Places

Does the Qur'an speak to Jews and Christians, as well as to the pagans of Arabia? Yes it does. For only they would have understood all the biblical references in the text, including the importance of cities like Jerusalem and Antioch. Jerusalem was where the temple was destroyed, and Antioch was where the church began. Although the Qur’an only alludes to these cities, they are an integral part of its theology and law.

In the Qur’an, Jerusalem represents the passing of an old faith—Judaism—and the rise of a new one—Islam. Muhammad (d. 632 C.E.) is believed to have ascended from the site of the temple into the heavens (Q 17:1-39). This site once housed the first and second temples where Jews worshipped and upheld the laws given to Moses on Mount Sinai (Exod 20) until they were destroyed (Jer 52; Josephus, The Jewish War, Book 1). The Qur’an teaches that Mosaic law is divine (Q 11:17) and that when the children of Israel disobeyed the law, God destroyed the temple to teach them a lesson.

Before turning toward Mecca, the earliest generation of Muslims prayed in the direction of Jerusalem (Q 2:144-50). The creation of the first Islamic sanctuary in Mecca may be considered, therefore, a replacement of the Jerusalem temple. It is also framed as a restoration of a theological worldview surpassing both Judaism and Christianity and going back to the pure faith of Abraham (Q 3:96-97, Q 28:57-59, Q 29:67-69). In this respect, the Qur’an supplants the theology of Paul in Rom 4 and Gal 3:8-9 concerning Abraham the Gentile, who is refashioned as the first Islamic patriarch (see also Q 3:63-68).

In the Qur’an, Antioch represents the decline of the early church as a result of its abandonment of Mosaic law. A close reading of Q 57:26-27 in light of the Acts of the Apostles and Paul’s letters demonstrates the text’s condemnation of the early church. Beginning with Paul’s Gentile flock in Antioch in the mid-first century C.E., circumcision no longer became a requirement to be a Christian. By the early second century C.E., the church founded by Peter in Jerusalem had been completely Hellenized, and Jewish law no longer played a central role among the Christian faithful.

However, Q 57:26-27 also states about the Christians of late antiquity, “some of them are guided.” This statement echoes the “remnant” of Israel found in Rom 9:27 but refers more specifically to the minority of non-Chalcedonian Christians who held fast to Mosaic law. Likewise, the following statement that “many of them are corrupt” is a criticism of Paul’s Gentile flock (Acts 15, Gal 2), whose growth in numbers, from a Qur’anic perspective, led to the corruption of the church as a whole. This is because by abandoning Mosaic law, the early church is seen to have severed its link to God. The Qur’an illustrates Muslims as the successors of Christian and Jewish traditions, and as the new guardians of God’s laws.

Contributors

Emran El-Badawi is director and assistant professor of Arab Studies at the University of Houston. He is also codirector of the International Qur’anic Studies Association (http://iqsaweb.org/) and author of The Qur’an and the Aramaic Gospel Traditions (Routledge, 2013). His interests include Qur’anic studies as well as contemporary Arab thought.

Led by apostles of Jesus like Peter, Paul, and Barnabas, the Jews of Syrian Antioch birthed the earliest Christian community in blood, sweat, and tears, even as some were fleeing their own homes in Jerusalem.

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The historical period from the beginning of Western civilization to the start of the Middle Ages.

The application of critical models of scholarship to a text.

Characteristic of a deity (a god or goddess).

A rebellion by the Jewish people against their Roman occupation, lasting from 66-73 C.E. and culminating with the destruction of the Temple. Also known as the First Jewish War or First Jewish Revolt.

A Jewish historian from the first century C.E. His works document the Jewish rebellions against Rome, giving background for early Jewish and Christian practices.

The religion and culture of Jews. It emerged as the descendant of ancient Israelite Religion, and is characterized by monotheism and an adherence to the laws present in the Written Torah (the Bible) and the Oral Torah (Talmudic/Rabbinic tradition).

A city in present-day Saudi Arabia that is a holy destination for Muslim pilgrims.

Artwork composed of small pieces of material—glass, stone, pottery—arranged in patterns or depicting persons and scenes.

(Also: Mohammed) The 7th century C.E. Arab prophet and founder of Islam.

A hypothetical source of sayings about Jesus conceived to explain common materials in Matthew and Luke.

The sacred scriptures of Islam, written by the prophet Mohammed.

Relating to thought about the nature and behavior of God.

Writing, speech, or thought about the nature and behavior of God.

Exod 20

The Ten Commandments1Then God spoke all these words:2I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery;3you shall h ... View more

Jer 52

The Destruction of Jerusalem Reviewed1Zedekiah was twenty-one years old when he began to reign; he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Ham ... View more

Rom 4

The Example of Abraham1What then are we to say was gained by Abraham, our ancestor according to the flesh?2For if Abraham was justified by works, he has someth ... View more

Gal 3:8-9

8And the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, declared the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, “All the Gentiles shall be bless ... View more

Rom 9:27

27And Isaiah cries out concerning Israel, “Though the number of the children of Israel were like the sand of the sea, only a remnant of them will be saved;

Acts 15

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Gal 2

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